Inhibitive effects of Rosa laevigata on LEC apoptosis of diabetic cataract rats by increasing Bcl-2 / Bax expression ratio

Objective To investigate the effects of Rosa laevigata on lens epithelial cell( LEC) apoptosis of diabetic cataract rats and its mechanism. Methods Sixty rats were random1y divided into normal control group,diabetic model group and treatment group,20 cases in each group. The rats in control group were routine bred,the diabetic cataract models were induced by streptozotocin( STZ,60 mg·kg- 1) in model group. Rosa laevigata treatment group established in diabetic cataract at the same time,according to 400 mg·kg- 1body weight given gastric perfusion of Rosa laevigata. At 4 weeks,8 weeks,12 weeks after STZ injection,the changes of lens opacity were observed. TUNEL method was used to analyze the lens epithelial cells apoptosis, the expression of Bcl-2 and Bax were detected by immunohistochemical method,and the expression level of Bcl-2 and Bax mRNA were detected by RT-PCR. Results At 12 weeks,the body weight of model group,treatment group and control group were( 151. 90 ± 2. 38) g,( 412. 99 ± 2. 17) g and( 464. 01 ± 2. 47) g,respectively,the model group was significantly lower than the treatment group and the control group( all P 0. 05). At 4 weeks,the blood glucose in treatment group,control group and model group were( 9. 11 ± 2. 32) mmol·L- 1,( 3. 83 ± 0. 79) mmol· L- 1and( 20. 31 ± 3. 23) mmol · L- 1,respectively,the differences between control group,treatment group and model group were statistically significant( all P 0. 05). At 12weeks,the blood glucose in treatment group,control group and model group were( 5. 62 ± 1. 25) mmol·L- 1,( 4. 12 ±1. 09) mmol· L- 1and( 25. 02 ± 2. 27) mmol·L- 1,respectively,the control group and treatment group were all lower than the model group( all P 0. 05). At 4 weeks,8 weeks,12 weeks,the rats lens opacity degree in treatment group were all higher than those in the control group, but lower than those in the model group( all P 0. 05). The apoptotic rate of LEC at 4 weeks,8 weeks and 12 weeks in model group were( 8. 35 ± 1. 20) %,( 13. 05 ± 1. 39) % and( 23. 69 ± 1. 88) %,respectively,the treatment group were( 4. 78 ± 1. 41) %,( 6. 08 ± 0. 95) % and( 10. 06 ± 1. 66) %,respectively,and the control group were( 1. 18 ± 0. 16) %,( 2. 15 ± 0. 25) % and( 3. 53 ± 0. 65) %,respectively,the differences were statistically significant between each group( all P 0. 05). Compared with the control group, the protein and mRNA expression of Bcl-2 in the model group reduced,the protein and mRNA expression of Bax up-regulated,Bcl-2 / Bax ratio decreased( all P 0. 05). Compared with the model group,the protein and mRNA expression of Bcl-2 in LEC of the treatment group increased,the protein and mRNA expression of Bax decreased,the ratio of Bcl-2 / Bax increased obviously( all P 0. 05). Compared with the control group,the protein expression of Bcl-2 in LEC of the treatment group reduced,the protein expression of Bax increased( all P 0. 05),but there was no statistical difference in Bcl-2 mRNA expression,Bax mRNA expression and Bcl-2 / Bax mRNA ratio between two groups( all P 0. 05). Conclusion Rosa laevigata can inhibit the LEC apoptosis of diabetic cataract rats by increasing Bcl-2 / Bax expression ratio,and delay the occurrence and development of diabetic cataract.